Piero Pelù’s new album, released tomorrow on the Epic Records/Sony Music Italy label, is called “Deserti” and is a journey through emotional suggestions and social scenarios.. An album with which the Florentine rocker returns to the stage after a period of forced interruption caused by an acoustic shock suffered two years ago while he was in the recording studio, and which caused the postponement of the tour. The concept album is part, as the second chapter, of the “Discomfort Trilogy” which began in 2020 with the release of the album “Pugili fragili” and continues today with 12 titles, 11 songs previously unreleased and an unplugged version of the now legendary. manifesto of pacifism “My name is never again”, a song written with Luciano Ligabue and Lorenzo Jovanotti, which Pelù wanted to reissue on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of its release.
“Deserts and desertification are there, for all to see – Pelù told AdnKronos -. I’m talking about social, emotional and political deserts. Naturally, everything is extremely linked to the discomfort I have felt since the pandemic.“. But deserts, explains the rocker, are also very fascinating places: “I love going to the desert of Morocco or North Africa. It’s no coincidence that the first song on the album is called ‘Doors’, because through this door we enter the dimension of the album. That of the desert is an observation but also an emotional suggestion.”
After the accident, Pelù did not withdraw into himself but faced it by talking about it with the fans. “I discovered that tinnitus constitutes an important social problem – underlines Pelù -. Thousands of people have contacted me on social networks to give me advice or tell me about their situation, it’s a social scourge. Those who suffer from tinnitus also tend to be a bit isolated, as this does not help them cope with the noise and noise pollution of cities. » Pelù decided to tell his situation in “Baraonde”, a song “that I love deeply” explains the artist. “After the accident, I completely immersed myself in nature and these dives resulted in photographs and a video that I made myself.” Additionally, the album cover is a montage of two of his photographs: “You see a sky but in reality it is reflected in a puddle of asphalt. It’s a dirty and false sky – he says -. I immersed myself in the informality that can be found in nature. And all of this will also be reflected in the visuals that I will project during the tour.”
A tour that will begin on June 29 from Spilimbergo (Pn) and which will see him protagonist on the stage of the main summer festivals, while in autumn there will be a return to the origins of rock’n’roll in the clubs.. “Everything is ready – assures Pelù – and I can’t wait to start playing again after the forced stoppage I suffered. Medicine didn’t help me, I only had a 25% improvement while technology helped me a lot and allowed me to get back on stage. Outside, we find the same sound power but in the headphones, it is much more contained.”
In addition to talking about the deserts caused by wars, as in “Scacciamali”, the rocker also addresses the theme of emotional deserts in the album, as in the song “Picasso”, where he speaks of Piero as a “child , of a teenager”. who confides to his family that he wants to make music, rock’n’roll, and in front of him there is a wall, a world war inside the house”. But also the sentimental deserts as in the ballad rock ‘Maledetto Cuore’ or even the deserts created by the partners, as in ‘Tutto e Subito’, a song written with Fast Animals and Slow Kids. Then there is ‘Novichok’, the song most musically linked to Litfibian roots,. in which the poison subtly used by Putin to kill his opponents is a metaphor for the poison served to citizens through contaminated food and propaganda A deliciously rock album, in the purest Pelù style.
“Rock is alive – says Pelù – today in Italy there are a multitude of new groups that rock like hell. It is no coincidence that my album features two important guests from the last generation, Calibro 35 and Fast Animals and Slow Kids. Rock is doing very well and enjoying excellent health and I hope that “Deserti” will also give a signal to those who have recently let themselves be a little too distracted by new trends.” (by Federica Mochi)